A spill resistant container is highly desirable in applications where there is an increased probability of spillage during drinking, such as in hospitals and nursing homes with debilitated patients, training cups for children, and in moving vehicles such as airplanes, boats, ships, trains and automobiles.
Volume dosing is also desirable in containers for hot beverages. A hot beverage, such as coffee, consumed at a temperature of greater than 80 degree Celsius has the potential to scald or otherwise damage the mouth and lips of a consumer. Solutions to this problem have included stirring the beverage or waiting for thermal radiation to decrease the beverage temperature to a comfortable level to allow consumption. Additionally, ice or a cooler consumable liquid such as water or milk is added to decrease the beverage temperature. Unfortunately, upon cooling a beverage to a comfortable consumption temperature, the beverage temperature quickly decreases until a hot beverage is below the optimal consumption temperature.
A similar situation exists with cold beverages that have the potential to irritate sensitive dental structures or chill portions of the digestive tract to cause temporary cramps or pain.
A volume dosing container is also desirable for a user having difficulty in swallowing, which is referred to as dysphagia. There are currently millions of people diagnosed with dysphagia. A patient suffering from dysphagia may encounter medical complications, such as aspiration. Sometimes, when liquids enter the windpipe of a person who has dysphagia, coughing or throat clearing cannot remove it. Liquid that stays in the windpipe may enter the lungs and create a chance for harmful bacteria to grow. A serious infection (aspiration pneumonia) can result. Dysphagia patients are therefore often put on restricted diets and asked to take small sips of liquid to prevent aspiration into their lungs.
For many dysphagia patients the preferable method of liquid consumption is drinking a predetermined volume of liquid using a dispensing tube or a straw.
Volume dosing is also used for dispensing medication in liquid form. Liquid medication is commonly consumed using a dosing measuring device, such as, a spoon, a syringe, or a measuring cap or cup. The foregoing devices are prone to incorrect measurement because the medication is commonly required to be poured into the dosing device to a marked level on the device. Dosing measuring devices may also be inconvenient to use, such as when a person is on a plane, in a car, or at a public place. This inconvenience can result in a missed medication dose, which may affect the medication's effectiveness. Incorrect measurement will also arise when alternate devices such as an ordinary teaspoon or tablespoon are used in place of a dosing device. In addition, the elderly and persons with limited manual dexterity have trouble dealing with dosing measuring devices.
The foregoing types of dosing devices may be sufficient for some dosing liquid medications where the accuracy of the dose volume is not critical, but are unsatisfactory for accurate volume dosing.
The container disclosed in WO2009/039632A1 permits dispensing a predetermined volume of liquid without the use of valves, pumps or springs. Although the described container permits a predetermined dose, additional small portions of liquid may be unintentionally delivered into the withdrawal chamber when the container is sporadically inclined from one side to another or is shaken. While the unintentional over delivery of small portions of liquid may not be important for containers used as a child's training cup, or as a temperature moderated cup, it can be important for containers used by persons suffering from a swallowing disorder (Dysphagia), or for liquid medication delivery containers. Also, some of the embodiments of the spill-resistant container disclosed in WO2009/039632A1 deliver liquid when the container is in an upright position but not when the container is in an inclined position.
The spill resistant container of the present invention is capable of delivering repeat, predetermined doses of the liquid from an upright position while minimizing accidental or over delivery of additional small volumes of liquid when the container is inclined or shaken.